Metabasis’ type 2 diabetes drug enters clinic

MB07803 is the second of a new class of drugs discovered by Metabasis that regulates glucose production in the liver by inhibiting an enzyme known as fructose 1,6 bisphosphatase (FBPase), a key component of the pathway responsible for the production of glucose known as the gluconeogenesis pathway.

The first drug candidate in this class, CS-917, is being developed in collaboration with Sankyo Co and has shown promise as a treatment for diabetes in preclinical and early clinical studies.

While MB07803 is structurally different from the first generation compound and was designed to have certain pharmacological advantages over CS-917, both compounds are designed to inhibit gluconeogenesis by targeting FBPase.

“We are very excited about the potential of FBPase inhibition as a new approach for treating type 2 diabetes. If approved for use, CS-917 and MB07803 used alone or in combination with other drugs could prove to be important new therapies for combating this widespread disease,” said Dr Mark Erion, Metabasis’ chief scientific officer.